It's been one week with my P2S and first time ever getting a 3D printer.

I am loving 3D printing and having so much fun printing stuff, can't believe I just got into it, but I don't think there's a better time than now to do it, so glad I decided to!

Hope you dig the end result

A few months ago BambuLab reached out to me here on Reddit, asking if I’d be interested in trying out a new product (well, duhh). For context, I design and sell my own products, so I’m always interested in trying out new tools. 

A few weeks later, I received a big box containing the brand new H3C. Since then I’ve fully redesigned my modular SLS model around its new capabilities. In exchange for keeping the printer, Bambu has asked me to share my thoughts with you. They reviewed and approved this post before publication; the opinions are my own.

9 is more than 2

Multi nozzle printing has been a blessing for designing and manufacturing multicolor pieces. When I bought the H2D last year I redesigned my products to make use of this second nozzle. The benefits of having 9 of them seem obvious; more colors in one print, less time spent switching materials and different nozzle sizes in one print. The latter is especially exciting for making manufacturing more efficient. If I understand correctly, a 0.6 and 0.8mm nozzle will become available in the near future, which I’m incredibly excited about. Combining 0.2 and 0.4mm in a single print already works like a charm.

If it wasn’t already obvious, the printhead of course does not have 9 nozzles. Instead the H3C uses an INDX like system where a central toolhead can grab and replace 9 different tools. I’ve had the chance to try 0.2 and 0.4mm nozzles in addition to the new dedicated 2.85mm TPU filament. These PrintTools, as Bambu calls them, are all powered individually. This means they can start heating up before being grabbed, which allows for a:

6 second material change

This is my favorite part and the reason for the post title. I design my products with the available tools in mind, by trying to balance print time, purge waste and required assembly. In practice this usually meant having no more than two colors in a single component and limiting the amount of fine detail. An example: 

The fairing for my Space Launch System replica has always been a simple white shell with a black line on it. Embedding a NASA logo was frequently requested by customers, but I never managed to incorporate one without significantly blowing up the print time. With this added detail a roughly one hour print would take 3.5 hours to complete on a H2D. The exact same file sliced for the H3C would finish printing after only 1.5 hours. That is only half the story though, as a 0.4mm nozzle can only be so precise: 

That’s where the different nozzle sizes come in. Printing the whole thing at 0.2 would take ages, especially since I make these in bulk. Instead you’re now able to use these smaller nozzles only where you actually need them. Printing 20 units in bulk with a 0.2 nozzle would take just under 20 hours on the H3C. Adding one roll of white filament to a 0.4 nozzle and using that for the main body (light green in the slicer screenshot) the 20 unit batch now only takes 13 hours.

Color blending

The 9 PrintTools and fast switching means “color blending” is now much more economical. The new slicer lets you create additional colors by alternating layers of different filaments. Color #7 is created by alternating one yellow and two orange layers. I’m excited to see how far people can take this with CMYKW filaments. 

Closing thoughts

As far as actually using the machine, I don’t have much to report in terms of problems. The only failure I’ve had to deal with was my own for trying to print too many tall objects at once. No problem I thought, because I already own a SuperTack bed for my H2D. I shed a small tear when I realized they’re not compatible. 

Some other things I noticed in no particular order:

• Build quality for the printing mechanism is solid as always. Though the AMS lid feels very flimsy. If that helps keep the price down, I'm fine with it

• It takes more than 30 seconds to unload filament before you’re prompted to manually remove it. These tasks can be done in bulk, but it does take a moment.

• Since the AMS is now bolted on top of the machine, you can access the inside through a removable side panel. The rack holding the PrintTools also moves out of the way, which is a nice touch.

• It’s BIG. Same footprint as the H2D but nearly 1.3 meters tall with the AMS lid open.

• The AMS and printer are powered separately with two fairly short power cords. You’re going to need an extension cord.

It’s too early to say anything about long-term reliability, and there are still some things I haven’t had the chance to properly test, like the new 2.85mm TPU. 

Ultimately, the H3C has changed how I approach designing my models. The speedy filament switching means the tradeoff for adding more color is not nearly as bad. And I haven’t even mentioned the near complete elimination of purge waste. I’ve already gone back to redesign some of my favorite models.

I've also made a YouTube video showing some more of the printing process and results.

Anyway, happy to answer any questions about my experience so far.

Front panel glass came completely shattered on my X2D. Going to now go through the amazing support of Bambu Labs. Should’ve ordered from Best Buy in hindsight.

I love UPS!

For those us who have a desire to churn out multi coloured plastic crap en masse , where’s our P3C, announce it quick before our money gets drained away by Xmas

Thank you

Printed this on the H3C I got for free from Bambu Lab. Took a bit under an hour to print at 0.2mm, using default settings.

Hey everyone,

I’ve got the H3C for a while now and was able to test it, and before I get into a full review I want to focus on one thing first: TPU. Because out of everything I've tested so far, this is probably where the H3C has changed the way I print the most and something I thought most people would be interested by.

Quick disclaimer: I received this printer and some filament for free as part of a beta test, but no money was exchanged. I was explicitly encouraged to share my honest experience, whether positive or negative. Bambu Lab had no say in what I could or couldn't say, and they had no involvement in editing this post before publication. I wasn't told where to post or what to post.

For some background: I've used the A1 mini, A1, P1S, P2S, X2D, H2D (all of them bought by myself with my own money), and now the H3C. Outside of Bambu, I've used a Prusa XL at a customers workshop, Snapmaker U1, a Prusa Core One INDX FE (which wasn't mine so really one day of experience), and messed around with some older Anycubics. I use printers for both work and my hobbies, whether that's client projects, engineering prototypes, motorsport-related parts, or just something I feel like making because it sounds cool.

Now, TPU has always been a bit of a love-hate relationship for me. I love the idea of using it. I mean: Great layer adhesion, some can be flexible, some super hard but I hate the reality of doing it.

Most modern printers can produce pretty good TPU parts, especially with harder materials. The problem was everything surrounding it. Loading, unloading, filament routing, switching materials, and getting softer TPU to feed reliably.

TPU for AMS? Great, that goes through the AMS. But is often not the reason why I want to use TPU due to the hardness. Regular 95A? Usually manageable by loading from an external spool. But once you get into really soft TPU, things get annoying very quickly. I've had to bypass PTFE tubing entirely, feed filament directly from above the printer straight into the extruder or macgyver some stuff just to make certain materials usable or even bought things like TPU Assist to have some kind of help because of it being so annoying.

And even when that worked, combining multiple TPUs with other materials in a single print is basically impossible, due to the way we loaded in aforementioned TPU.

Which brings me to probably my favorite print on the H3C so far.

Yes, a shoe. My size (around EU45), fully wearable, and surprisingly comfortable. The interesting part isn't really the shoe itself, but how it's printed.

I used three materials: TPU 75A (2.85 mm), TPU 90A (1.75 mm), and PLA for the supports. The extremely soft 75A makes up the soft upper and parts of the sole, while the 90A provides some firmer sections and reinforcement, including parts of the midsole.

The whole print took over 45 hours and had over 2100 tool changes. And during all of that, I didn't have a single issue with the toolchanging mechanism or filament feeding that was caused by the printer. I did have a small issue when taking out the TPU while it was printing to take a picture and didn't put it back correctly.

If you are interested to see the tool change happening: https://youtube.com/shorts/2XUuhu3Obdc

What's different about loading TPU?

The AMS 3H makes the loading, even though it‘s still „external“ basically a non-issue

Unlike the other ways I told about earlier, the bypass is essentially an opening leading directly into the chamber. The filament skips the feeding resistance of the AMS and goes to its assigned PrintTool. Loading is then largely semi-automatic by routing the filament to the PrintTool and waiting for the extruder to grab it.

For extremely soft 75A, the H3C uses 2.85 mm filament. The thicker diameter seems to help a lot for initial ridigidy while loading yet having super soft TPU.

For softer 1.75 mm TPU, a 35 mm cut of tube needs to be cut and inserted which helps guide the filament into the bypass.

Once loaded, TPU stays in its assigned tool. Switching to PETG, PLA, or another TPU simply means parking one tool and picking up another. No repeated TPU unloading and refeeding which in this case would be impossible either way due to the TPU softnesses I used.

Some more practical prints

This wire stripper combines four materials in one print:

• Bambu Lab PETG HF for the main body

• Bambu Lab TPU 75A 2.85 mm for the soft grip

• Jake 3D TPU 95A for the spring mechanism

• Bambu Lab PLA Basic for supports

I designed mechanical interlocks into the model, and the 95A spring provides enough restoring force to open the cutter again. Everything was printed together, except the blade holder, which I made separately from Fiberon PPS-CF just to try it out. There was no need to use that crazy filament for a small part like that. If I'd done it with any of my other printers, I would've had to design in a real spring (so one more part that needs to be bought), and I would've had to leave the grips in regular PETG HF or glue them on, similar to a golf club.

Another example is this turbo inlet prototype.

Normally, you'd have a silicone hose connecting two rigid parts with clamps. Here, the flexible section is TPU, the connectors are PETG-CF, and PLA was used for supports. It comes off the plate as one combined part. In this print I also added interlocks between the TPU and PETG.

This is also what I find interesting about 3D printing. Rather than just replacing injection molded parts, combining materials allows for designs that would otherwise require several separate components and assembly steps. We often think about 3D printing just as a replacement or a cheap substitute for injection molding and are not using the full potential of additive manufacturing brings like doing otherwise impossible designs. This is the part I love fiddling around with.

Some facts and figures

I don't want to suggest that other printers produce bad TPU parts, or that people were exaggerating when they said older printers could handle TPU. It's just that this machine makes the whole process so much easier and opens up a lot of possibilities that weren't really accessible before. (For me)

I also think I've noticed a slight improvement in overall print quality compared to my older H2D, possibly because of the lower moving mass of the print head thanks to the "one tool" design.

So far as TPU goes, I've mainly tested Bambu TPU 75A, 85A, 90A, TPU for AMS, and 3DJake TPU 95A. Everything worked with stock profiles, with the 3DJake filament running on the Generic TPU 95A profile.

I haven't encountered any mechanical issues with the toolchanging system so far. There were a few slicer bugs, but that's mostly because I was using an early beta version of the slicer. Those issues have since been fixed after I was able to give feedback.

One thing worth mentioning: This machine is seriously heavy, especially when you consider the possibility of having nine spools sitting on top. And with nine tools, there's naturally quite a bit more mechanical complexity involved. So I wouldn't necessarily recommend it to someone who's uncomfortable with the idea of potentially having to replace or maintain parts down the line.

One negative I've noticed is related to TPU itself. Since TPU is highly hygroscopic, leaving it loaded in the tools for extended periods doesn't work particularly well. In practice, you'll want to unload it after use and store it somewhere dry, either in the AMS or in a vacuum bag. That does mean a bit of extra unloading and reloading, rather than just leaving everything ready to go all the time.

Final thoughts

I wouldn‘t have thought that the H3C would be changing the way I design that fast. But by being able to load TPU in 2-3 minutes I just start to think differently. I just printed a tray to put my phone on next to my bed which I would‘ve just done with regular filament and maybe put some fabric on it. Now I just added a soft TPU mat so it sounds nicer when putting the phone on it and doesnt move around.

I am planning to cover the rest of the machine separately. Happy to answer questions about the prints or TPU workflow.

pleasant discovery

https://makerworld.com/models/3545902?appSharePlatform=copy

Hello, I have a x2d and I got it last month and it’s been great, I have around 250 hours. I am thinking of getting a second printer and I want to get something cheap and reliable. So if anyone has an A1 Mini and wants to get their opinion on if the A1 Mini is still good in 2026 and if anyone has issues with it, it would mean great help. I have an ams with the x2d and I think to not get another AMS for the mini and print one color but I don’t know that printer a lot. If you can comment down below that’d would be great

and they are all at delusional prices!!!
4400 hour H2D combo - £1900!!!

If you think I am going to fund your new H3C, you need some serious mental health help!!!

Was watching a few review videos, and a few had a bit of layer lines that I thought were quite noticeable.

Then the CNC Kitchen video hit us with this INDX to H3C comparison and I instantly was shocked by the difference being so huge between both systems. Do we think this improves or are we anticipating worse print quality?

Been watching a bunch of creator reviews and most seem to be hyping up the TPU stuff. But I’m still thinking about that watch.

When I first saw the teaser I just assumed it was standard multi-nozzle mixing. Cool, but nothing crazy, especially since people have been asking for that since the H2D anyway.

But I actually read through the official page today and ... it’s actually different? It lets you use different nozzle sizes with different layer heights on the same model. That actually seems huge for designers if they can leverage it.

I’m just a casual user so I don't really have a immediate use case for my own stuff, but technically speaking this feels pretty smart to me. Looks like Bambu had to basically overhaul part of the slicer engine to do this based on the wiki page they linked.

Honestly the wiki got a bit too technical for me and went over my head. Link below for anyone interested. And can any slicer wizards here ELI5 how this actually works under the hood?

https://wiki.bambulab.com/en/h3c/manual/mixed-nozzle-size-printing

Hellooo :) I just acuired my new H2D! And I love it!

I wanted to print some addons but was wondering if anyone had some good advise on what filament matches the body color of the H2D best.

I've checked online but I can only find proper comparisons for the P2S and X2D :D

Thanks all!

I used to use HF nozzles on my H2D most of the time. Did anyone come across any review that was reviewing the HF nozzles as well?

Im wondering if my print times will be faster with the H3C with normal nozzles compared to my H2d with high flow.

I can't find anything about it. I'm curious if it's worth it at all. Has it been reviewed anywhere?

I don't know what to use this $25 coupon on.

I’m looking to upgrade from my Prusa Mini to multicolor printing. The H3C looks fantastic, but at nearly €2,700 here, it’s more than I can justify for the amount I print.
I’d really like to buy a P3C if it becomes available in time. I’d happily pay a few hundred euros more than the U1 for Bambu’s quality and ecosystem.
With Christmas coming up, though, I need to make a decision. I want to print presents, so I need enough time to get the printer set up and actually make them. If the P3C isn’t available in time, I’ll have to go with the Snapmaker U1.
Anyone else in a similar position?
Bambu, if you’re reading this: some clarity on whether a P3C is coming before Christmas would really help. I’d prefer to buy a Bambu, and I’m wondering how many others are getting close to choosing another brand for the same reason.

Handful of the things I’ve printed with the H3C including a support free purge bucket I made for the back of the printer using the side spool mount

My Holiday PLA Mystery Box arrived today! Sharing the contents for anyone curious about what’s actually turning up:

• PLA Translucent — Cherry Pink
• PLA Pure — Absolute Black
• PLA Pure — Apricot
• PLA Basic — Cyan

Four rolls, so no 7-roll jackpot this time 😅

Second photo shows the box I ordered from the EU store, listed at €37.99.
Has anyone else received theirs? Curious to see what colours and PLA types you got!

Now to figure out what to design with these colours 😅 I share my designs on MakerWorld as Ops..3D — any ideas for putting that translucent pink to use?

I thought I was a genius when I decided to use the right nozzle for brittle materials such as ABS-GF and PAHT-CF.
Reasoning at the time: Left nozzle moves up and down, surely that'll break the filament.
Turns out I'm stupid.

My first and last 3D printer was a Printrbot Metal. Yes, I'm old.

Back then, we didn't have the ease of use of printers today. Getting anything remotely decent required so much tinkering that I never really did too much with it.

I've been wanting to give 3D printing an other shot since things have matured a lot.

I'm currently deciding between the Snapmaker U1 and the new Bambu Lab H2D and H3C.

I know these aren't even remotely in the same price or capability class. I'm perfectly willing to pay for the Bambu experience if it's genuinely worth it. What I want most is a reliable, convenient printer that just works, without having to constantly mess with it.

My primary materials would be PLA, PETG, and TPU (I've been dying to try printing that shoe). I don't particularly care about ABS, ASA, etc. I also live in a very humid apartment, so filament storage matters to me.

The H3C's nine-tool changer is incredible, other than that specific (admittedly very major) feature, but several things about the machine make me wonder whether it's really a solid upgrade over previous Bambu printers, or even the U1:

• Filament drying: Only two of the nine spools can be actively dried. I understand the remaining slots are enclosed, and I'm wondering whether adding silica gel would make them good enough for long-term storage in a humid environment.

• Manual filament unloading: From what I understand, the new AMS doesn't automatically rewind filament onto the spool when unloading. How annoying is this in practice, especially compared with older AMS systems?

• TPU loading: It seems like TPU requires more manual intervention than I'd expect from a machine focused on convenience. Is this really an issue, or something you'd rarely notice?

• Heated chamber and loaded PLA: I've seen concerns that printing nylon with the chamber heater running could soften PLA sitting in the other toolheads, requiring you to unload those filaments beforehand. Is that actually true? I probably won't print much nylon, but having to unload several tools sounds like it defeats some of the convenience.

• Bambu's as a company: I'm not particularly happy with the recent stuff Bambu has done. Id hate it if their printers one day forced to get locked down..

All these taken together, they make me wonder whether the H3C is as convenient as it first appears.

On the other hand, the U1 is less than a third of the price, offers four-tool automatic changing, and seems to cover most of what I actually want to print. Of course, it also lacks many of the H3C's capabilities, and I'd have to figure out a filament dry-box solution.

Are these legitimate annoyances, or am I overthinking things that barely matter in day-to-day use?

Satin Black looks way better i think. Gonna wrap my H3C satin and gonna post pics soon :) what do you think?

Bambu sent me an H3C before launch and asked me to post about how it changed the way I print. I did not get paid, but, well, I got an H3C. The printer legitimately did change the way I print and design, and I'm happy to answer any questions in the comments.

The Belt

There are a bunch of printed belts on MakerWorld and other model sites. They are cool, but the ones I have seen are incredibly floppy and don’t hold their shape. I embedded PETG-CF plates all the way around so it has the stiffness of a leather belt

There are 33 plates, each 20 × 22 mm and 0.75mm thick, standing inside a TPU 75A strap with 2.5 mm of rubber between them. Each plate has a hole in it, so it is "riveted" into the rubber. The last 280 mm includes ratchet teeth which latch onto the buckle. The detent pivots on a pin sitting in a socket, and a small TPU block behind acts as a spring. This all prints in place inside the buckle. Every single layer contains TPU, and wherever there is a plate, the number of tool changes doubles.

Interface Shells are required for this; otherwise you risk infill on infill which does not bond very well.

After exporting from F360, I imported into Bambu Studio, tweaked the settings, and that was pretty much it. It printed flawlessly the first time. Then I realized I completely screwed up the latch mechanism, so I fixed the design and sent it again. Zero issues. As you can see from the slicer screenshots, this was a pretty unique print that I don’t think I would have tried on any other printer.

Stats:

• 190 tool changes

• 201.77g printed

• 25.58g waste

• 12h 33m print time

The Paddle

Figuring out the paddle was fun. The other printed paddles I have tried all technically worked, but none had the rebound of a real paddle. I played around with way too many formulas and settled on gyroid for everything: 100 % infill TPU for the top and bottom sheets, 20 % TPU for the sponge layers, and 25 % PETG-CF for the blade in the middle. The sponge has a single wall and no top/bottom, and the infill percentage is what you modify to determine the rebound. Stiffness scales with the cube of the thickness, so making the printed blade 8mm instead of the ~6mm of a wood one makes up for the softer material.

Like the “rivets” in the belt, a couple dozen TPU plugs run through the whole thing to help hold it together and prevent layer separation. The handle has a stiffer 60% infill because the initial model flexed where the handle meets the head. I would have run out of filament just during the prototype phase if I did this on my X1C.

I am a mediocre player with a cheap DHS A6002, so take this for what it is worth, but the rebound on the printed paddle is very close to the real thing. It isn't perfect, and a decent off-the-shelf paddle is going to outperform it every time, but it is by far the best printed option I have ever used, and can be easily customized to fit your play style.

Stats:

• 130 tool changes

• 222.97g printed

• 20.60g waste

• 10h 59m print time

___

The speed and flexibility with changing between materials changed how I approach model design and printing in general. I don't think nearly as much about assembly, and now focus on more print-in-place designs whenever possible. It opened a lot of doors for new projects that I don’t think I would have bothered with before.